In recent times, Ganesh Utsav festivities in Pune have adapted to environmental concerns, says Rasika Dhavse.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BSP devastated the Congress-NCP alliance. In the Maharashtra elections, the Sonia Gandhi factor appears to have bailed the Congress out of big trouble. But this time, the BSP wrecked the BJP-Shiv Sena combine in many places, notes P Sainath.

Sometimes, simply showing up is half the battle won. In caste panchayats in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, women activists are finding that attending them regularly is the best way for women to find justice in these community hearings. Aparna Pallavi reports.

The National Commission on Farmers team, the public at large, and even sections of the media have signalled the crisis, its causes and its appalling human toll. Failure to intervene in Vidharbha now has no excuses at all. P Sainath continues his series on Vidharbha's crisis.

Ten months after his father ended his life, Madhav toils from 6 am to 8 pm to herd the cattle of a big farmer for a paltry Rs 20 a day. Education? Forget it. In village after Vidarbha village where farmers have committed suicide, children have eventually dropped out of schools to take up the plough and work like beasts of burden, reports Jaideep Hardikar.

"In the time of crisis, when no helping hand is coming forward to rescue us, we have to manage ourselves," says Bhagwat Jadhav, a resident of Bondgavhan village in Vidarbha. His neighour, cotton farmer Ramesh Rathod committed suicide recently. "It could be our turn tomorrow," says a worried Jadhav. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

"Of course I would like to be married to a nice boy and have a small family. Who doesn't?" asks Ganga Khatale, 31, with a fleeting twinkle. Amidst a desperate situation of suicides that even pushed two young girls to take their lives over marriage tensions, Ganga seems courageous in her hope. Varada Hardikar reports.

Suicides by consuming poison contribute to over two-thirds of the total autopsies performed at a sub-district hospital in interior Vidarbha, Maharashtra. "Pesticide could be bought from any Krishi Kendra. But for medicine, they've to walk miles before they could get it," says one health official. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

A Standard & Poor-controlled firm is appointed to draft Pune's city development plan (CDP) in secrecy. An iron curtain of "don't ask us questions" appears when information about the contract is asked for. And then, the plan itself is botched up, violating the 74th Constitutional Amendment. Sheela Barse investigates.

A two-wheeler loan bonanza is overrunning crop-loan concerns in crisis-torn Vidarbha, where two to three farmers have been committing suicide daily. In a land where farmers find it difficult to get institutional loans for their crops, it seems getting loans for bikes are not. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

When the Maharashtra state government started punishing moneylenders in response to rising farmer suicides in Vidarbha, hundreds of cotton farmers complained. "Who will give us credit now?" they asked. Third in his series, Jaideep Hardikar records the deep-rooted factors for the dominance of the moneylender in Vidarbha.

The scientific establishment remains highly sceptical about organic methods. But Dr Tarak Kate and his colleagues at a Wardha-based NGO have collected data systematically, to negate the charge that this alternative is unscientific and unproven. Darryl D'Monte reports.

"We are confused, whom should we believe in? The finance minister says action will be taken within 48 hours against officials who do not release the credit, and the babus say they have no notification," says sixty-year-old Tatyaji Panghate at Ghonsa in Zari Jamni block of Yavatmal. Jaideep Hardikar reports on more suicides in Vidarbha.

Hundreds of women in Maharashtra's Gondia district travel from small towns to the villages to earn a daily wage. Unlike most migrants, they are footloose workers from an urban setting seeking work in the villages. At stations along the way are labour contractors, waiting to pick up workers on the cheap. P Sainath reports.

Mann Deshi Udyogini, formed by a rural women's cooperative bank in association with HSBC Bank, is a business school aims to empower rural women with knowledge of how to run small enterprises. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

A audit of the Maharashtra government's post-flood disaster relief expenditure of the last two years has thrown up plenty of instances of misuse of funds. The audit has also gone into the causes of floods turning out to be disasters. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

Prakash Kardaley's personal integrity and unflinching courage to uncover the wrongs in society were an inspiration to his colleagues. Equally, the RTI law for him was a weapon; he insisted that ordinary citizens were the warriors who had to wield it. Rasika Dhavse pays tribute to the senior journalist who passed away on 15 July.

Four years, three men, one family. The tragedy unleashed by the agrarian crisis on the family of Deshmukhs in Katyar village of Vidarbha isn’t vanishing. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

Are the pressures which make male farmers commit suicide the same for women farmers as well? Socially, legally, with respect to property rights, and given their family positions, women are placed in situations strikingly different from those of men. Aparna Pallavi reports.

Pune-based firm Neeti Solutions has designed a unique version of the popular game Snakes and Ladders, aimed at teaching children about fires and earthquakes and how to cope best in such situations. Rasika Dhavse has more.

Since 1994, the Socio Economic Development Trust has succeeded in drawing some 11,000 dropouts in 220 villages of Maharashtra back to school through unique village-level children's organisations called Bal Panchayats. Aparna Pallavi reports.

Contrary to its own knowledge, the Salt Departmnt has been contending that the lands that belong to salt manufacturers along the Konkan coast are government lands, and that the claimants are mere lessees with a license to manufacture salt. P Venu reports.

Shreekrishna Kalamb's life and musings as a poet-farmer symbolise the agrarian crisis that is wrecking havoc in the Vidarbha countryside. Kalamb ended his life last month, and his grieving daughter now hopes to publish the collection. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

A recent television advertisement has had a terrific impact and shaken people's conscience, making aspirant baby killers feel guilty of the crime they intend to commit. This is Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) and it has the potential to usher in a revolution, writes Surekha Sule.

An appeal in the environment appellate authority that ought to have been a clear case of evidence and cross evidence has instead thrown up something new - a case of a project being upheld despite the objections to it being true. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Shivangaon, a village near Nagpur produces a staggering Rs.25-29 crores worth of milk each year. Government-led land acquisition here for a new cargo hub is hurting the local economy, reports Jaideep Hardikar.

Consent for relocation given by Jamni village in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra was obtained under duress. Villagers protest against the manner in which the gram sabha had proceeded. Aparna Pallavi investigates.

A recent ruling by the Bombay High Court on a case of sexual harassment against a private sector company offers encouragement for women are afraid to talk about the problem. Kalpana Sharma has more.

Land rate has soared to staggering Rs.1-5 crores per acre on the outskirts of Nagpur, driven by the hype created by the proposed Multi-Modal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur project and the adjoining Special Economic Zone. Jaideep Hardikar has more.

Shattered by a complete failure of crop this year, and looming debt, the three-acre farmer in Yavatmal, Mahrashtra, followed what tens of other farmers have done in Vidarbha in the past. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

Proposals for mining in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve are pending at New Delhi for environmental clearance. Conservationists have warned against proceeding, while the state's politicians are for the mining. Jaideep Hardikar digs deeper.

There are more fronts in the fray across the State this time. And with multi-cornered contests in almost all seats, there could be some major upsets, writes P Sainath.

In Pune, bureaucratic meddling and lack of vision are threatening a simple, cost-effective eco-technology which treats heavily polluted water and turns messed-up water bodies into clean ones, reports Surekha Sule.

NPCIL and the political establishment are burying their heads in the sand over the controversial nuclear plants on the Konkan coast, which will affect the lives of people in the entire region. Darryl D'Monte reports.

Girl children who were given names that reflected their unwanted status are being renamed in Maharashtra, in a new initiative to reverse the decline in sex ratio. Freny Manecksha reports.

The State has quietly pushed through a set of changes to the way it treats RTI applications. Activists discovered it quite accidentally, and are shocked. Krishnaraj Rao writes.

Integrated river management is a serious business, and without proper attention can lead to politically difficult situations even within a single state, as seen in Maharashtra this year. Parineeta Dandekar reports.

While state atrocities against Pardhi communities show few signs of abatement, a small school in Mahadev Basti in Usmanabad, Maharashtra brings a ray of hope. Shirish Khare reports.

While formal education on climate change is largely structured around doctrines and laws targeted at mature minds, some have realised the importance of building awareness and inspiring action among the younger brigade.Angelica Pereira reports from Mumbai.

Even before the first line of the much-anticipated Mumbai Metro becomes functional, a number of issues have cropped up, most notably one over the pricing of tickets. Darryl D’Monte tracks the arguments, with comparisons to metro rail elsewhere.

The report of the Kelkar Committee on balanced development in Maharashtra has important recommendations. But will it all come to nought because of its failure to avoid some conventional pitfalls? Shripad Dharmadhikary explores.

The Mumbai municipal authorities have delivered a draft 20-year development plan for the city, but implementation of many of the proposals therein could well deliver the final blow to a city already gasping for breath, says Darryl D’Monte.

Although most members of the Mahila Shanti Sena are illiterate labourers, they are very aware of the strength of thier force, and the importance of their role in society. Alka Arya reports on a women's movement that is tackling complex social and economic questions with a deep conviction for peace.

This northern most district of Bihar, bordering Nepal, has hordes of dalit hindu and muslim children working at hotels and restaurants in violation of a statutory order prohibiting such work. Everything from education policy, to law enforcement, to rehabilitation has been messed up, finds Rahul Ramagundam.

Since 1963, there have been repeated breaches in the Kosi's embankments, causing tremendous loss and tragedy. Yet, Bihar's governments have made little headway and argue each year as if the problems were new, says Dinesh Kumar Mishra.

The periodic floods in the Kosi basin and embankment breaches have landed the people of north Bihar in a perpetual mess. In assembly sessions, politicians discuss flood relief but seldom the cause behind the disasters, reports Surekha Sule.

Mritunjay Tiwary has brought eyesight to tens of thousands of people through his eye hospital in rural Bihar. But his vision of development extends much farther. Ruchi Choudhary reports.

Initiatives under the ‘My Space My unManifesto’ campaign to bring about a political reawakening and engagement among Dalit youth have led to a new-found consciousness and perspective among them. Manisha Prakash reports.

The common thread between our external and internal security predicaments is our approach to time. Most security issues are long-standing and seemingly interminable. If we understood why this is so, we can change it, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

नासा (NASA) के वैज्ञानिकों हवाले से लिखा है कि 'पौधों की जड़ें और उनसे जुड़े सूक्ष्मजीव तब रोगजनक वायरस, बैक्टीरिया और कार्बनिक रसायनों को नष्ट करते हैं.